Shake it off? Parents come up short for Taylor Swift tickets

NEW YORK (AP) — They were supposed to be birthday presents. They were supposed to be Christmas presents. They were supposed to be the most special of special treats for young fans of Taylor Swift.

Instead, for many parents, the hours-long Ticketmaster debacle they endured Tuesday trying to score concert seats left them empty-handed and frustrated — and their kids disappointed.

“I was trying to buy tickets so my best friend and I could take our pre-teens to their first concert and waited literally all day to finally get in to buy tickets and not one ticket was left,” Micah Woods, who lives near Little Rock, Arkansas, said Wednesday.

Others who did battle on computers eventually scored, some after being kicked out of the online queue numerous times or struggling with error messages.

“I was pretty worn out afterwards. Just the stress of it,” said Natasha Mitchner in Dayton, Ohio. “But it's worth it. She puts on a good show.”

After nearly six hours in the queue, Mitchner madly scooped up tickets for herself and her two daughters, ages 17 and 20. She sprung for a bonus fourth ticket to be used by her husband or a friend of the kids. It will be the fourth time the Swiftie family has seen her live.

“My 20-year-old said even if you don't get them, I still love you,” Mitchner said, laughing. “It's kind of our thing to do together. I would have been upset. I just tried to be calm."

Emails to Ticketmaster spokeswomen were not immediately returned Wednesday. In a tweet Tuesday, the company called demand “historically unprecedented” with millions of people trying to buy.

Fresh off one of the biggest album launches of her career, Swift announced earlier this month she was going on a new U.S. stadium tour starting next year, with international dates to follow. Fans who received a...